Means for applying simulated masonry to walls and the exterior surfaces of buildings



July 7, 1959 H, T E 2,893,098

MEANS FOR APPLYING SIMULATED MASONRY T0 WALLS AND THE E RIOR SURFACES 0F BUILDINGS led Jan. 20, 1955 INVEN TOR. DAVID H. Tl LLEY ATTO RNEY United States Patent .NIEANS FOR APPLYING SHVIULATED MASONRY TO WALLS AND THE EXTERIOR SURFACES OF BUILDINGS This invention relates in general to certain new and useful improvements inmeans for applying simulated masonry to walls and the exterior surfaces .of buildings.

At the present time many frame houses .and similar structures are modernized by applying thereto an exte- :rior surface of asbestos shingles, asphalt shingles, stucco .or the like, because such surfaces seal the structure against drafts, cold, dampness, and avoid the necessity for frequent repainting. Another more costly but far more satisfactory expedient which is widely employed is the application of a cementitious plastic material by a series 'of molds which simulate the texture and contour of :masonry blocks. With this type of coating it is usunecessary .to prepare the surface of the building by covering it with wire mesh and applying thereto in successive order a so-called brown .coat and scratch coat. :These coatings resemble the brown coat and scratch coat rconventionally employed in plastering interior walls except that the applied material contains cement and hardening agents which render the coatings formed therefrom hard and weather resistant.

Since this simulated masonry coating is expensive, it :is :beyond the financial reach of many home owners. This is particularly true since frame houses and similar :structures which would benefit from this type of exterior treatment are ordinarily owned by persons of comparatively modest financial means who could only afford --this type .of home improvement if it could 'be accomplished on a do-it-yourself basis.

1 It is, therefore, the primary object of the present invention to provide a means for applying .a simulated masonry coating to walls and the exterior surfaces of buildings :which issimple, efiicient and economical and can be carried out by the average home owner on a do-it-yourself basis without resort to skilled labor or the like.

It is also, an object of the present invention to pro- Jide a means for applying simulated masonry coating .to building structures which can be mass produced at Ielativelylow cost and conveniently shipped over relatively long distances without excessive freight cost and which .can be readily utilized 'bythe average home owner without any particular 'training'or specialized skill.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention resides in 'the'nove'l features of form, construction,

' arrangement, and combination of parts presently deice Figures 7, 8 and 9 are perspective views of a masonry simulating mold constructed in acordance with and embodyiug the present invention showing the mold in various positions of actual use.

Referring now in more detail and by reference characters to the drawings, A designates a corner section of a building wall which consists of a plurality of vertical two-by-four studs 1 nailed together in the usual man ner of building construction for supporting an interior wall 2 which is, in turn, formed of lathing, wall board, plaster or other conventional materials of construction. Similarly, the exterior faces of the studding support conventional sections of sheathing 3 which may be plywood, clapboard or any other usual material. Secured to the exterior face of the sheathing 3 by means of nails 4 is a layer of wire mesh 5 to which a foundation coating 6 of rough plaster-like nature is applied. This coating can be formed of a cemenn'tious mix which, when wet, has the consistency of plaster and, when dry, is hard and weather resistant.

The nailing up of the wire mesh 5 is a fairly simple operation requiring only a hammer with which to drive the nails or staples and a pair of wire ships to cut away the wire around the window openings, door openings, and other architectural features of the building. Similarly, the foundation layer or coating 6 can be readily applied by the average unskilled person because it is not exposed to view and, therefore, requires no great skill. Ln fact, it can be troweled on in a rather rough, rather rapid manner and finally smoothed out with an elongated leveling stick in accordance with simple instructions which are easy to follow. After the foundation coating 6 has been applied, it is allowed to dry thoroughly. The exterior masonry simulating coating or finish is then applied by the use of a plurality of molds M which are molded from papier-mache or cardboard and are preferably of rectilinear peripheral contour, having a mold-cavity c the surfaces of which have a configuration simulative of cut stone. The longitudinal margins of the mold M are provided with two transversely aligned notches 7, 8, which subdivide the mold transversely into a long section and a short section for use in forming corners, as will be presently more fully described, and are preferably connected by an external slightly indented score line s. The interior or masonry simulating surface of the mold cavity 0 is heavily dusted with colored rock powder which is preferably compacted or pressed thereinto with suificient force so that the rock powder will be mechanically adhered to the mold to a sufficient degree to permit handling in shipment thereof.

It will, of course, be understood in this connection that the molds M may be formed in various sizes and shapes so that a householder may'purchase a group of different sizes and thereby produce a variegated masonry pattern on the wall which he is surfacing. In use, the molds are filled with a wet plastic coating material consisting principally of cement, sand, water and preferably, though not necessarily, hardening agents and moisture impermeabilizing agents. The mold M is filled with the plastic coating material which has the consistency of a heavy mud and will not run out of the notches 7 and 8. The mold M while in substantially horizontal position is filled to overflowing so that the plasticmaterial therein is mounded up slightly above the plane in which the edges of the mold M lies. The mold M is then manually lifted with a quick upward movement and slapped against the surface to which the material is being applied and is pressed firmly into place. The dry, somewhat porous foundation coating 6 immediately sucks in moisture from the plastic material and draws the latter into a tight bond creating a slight amount of vacuum, so to speak, within the mold M so that the tiguous and aligned relation to the first, and thereafter successive molds are similarly applied one after the'other.

Ordinarily, a string or a line is drawn tautly across the wall and leveled up to establish a truly horizontal guideline along which a first course of mold may be applied. As soon as the first line has been applied a second line either above or below may be similarly applied. Usually it is desirable to have the vertical lines between the molds staggered in the manner in which the vertical joints are staggered in conventional masonry construction. This can be accomplished by cutting off the short end of one mold by running a knife through the notches 7, 8, and the material therein and using one or the other of the severed portions as a starter for the next line or course of molds.

The molds M may also be applied around corners by sticking the mold in such a manner that as it is applied to the wall the vertical line between the notches 7, 8, will be in substantial alignment with the corner of the wall and, at the moment of application, bending the mold around the corner in the manner shown in Figures 8 and 9. In this connection it should be noted that the long portion of the mold M should be applied to one side of the corner in one course and then for the next course the particular mold should be turned end for end so that the long portion is on the other side of the corner. This provides the staggered appearance which is considered desirable in simulated masonry work.

After the molds M have been in place for approximately 30 minutes to one hour the plastic cementitious coating material will have become quite firmly bonded and will be partially set. The molds M may then be manually removed and this can be readily accomplished because the rock powder covering on the surface of the mold will be bonded firmly to the cementitious coating material and actually forms a colorful exterior facing .therefor and at the same time serves as a parting agent to prevent the paper-like material of the mold M itself from becoming adhesively bonded to the coating material. Consequently, the mechanical adhesion of the molds M has much less strength than the cementitious bond between the coating material and the surface to which it is applied. Therefore, once this latter bond is firmly established the mold can be pulled oif quite easily without impairing the shape or contours of the coating material even though the latter is still somewhat soft and plastic. As soon as the molds M have been re moved from a section of the work the joints between the adjacent units of coating material should be raked out with a small striking tool so that each stone simulating unit will have sharply, neatly defined margins and the basic color of the coating material will show through to simulate the appearance of mortar which is usually visible in conventional masonry joints.

The molds M are relatively light in weight and can be shipped in nested relationship within a large shipping container so that handling and transportation costs are minimal. Furthermore, the molds M are relatively inexpensive to manufacture and are easy to use in the hands of the average unskilled home mechanic. It is relatively simple to cut the molds M with a knife or a scissors to fit the various nonrectilinear contours of window arches, doorways, and other irregular architectural contours occasionally encountered in building construction work.

It should be understood that changes and modifications in the form, construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of the means for applying simulated masonry to walls and the exterior surfaces of buildings may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the nature and principle of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A disposable mold for use in applying simulated masonry facings to building structures, said mold comprising a pan-shaped body having a bottom wall and a narrow upstanding rim extending around the entire periphery of said bottom wall, said body being formed of paper-like material, the interior surface of which is contoured to simulate the surface-texture of a piece of masonry, said interior surface being provided with a thin loosely adherent coating of rock particles mechanically pressed therein, said rim being provided with a pair of aligned notches respectively located on opposite sides of the body and connected by a score line which extends across the bottom wall so that the mold can be bent into L -shaped configuration.

2. A disposable mold for use in applying simulated masonry facings to building structures, said mold comprising a pan-shaped body having a substantially flat bottom wall and a narrow upstanding rim extending around the entire periphery of said bottom wall, said body being formed of paper-like material, the interior surface of which is contoured to simulate the surfacetexture of a piece of masonry, said interior surface being provided with a thin loosely adherent coating of rock particles mechanically pressed therein, said rim being provided with a pair of aligned notches respectively located on opposite sides of the body and connected by a score line which extends across the bottom wall so that the mold can be bent into L-shaped configuration to divide the mold into two rectangular sections of unequal length.

3. A disposable mold for use in applying simulated masonry facings to building structures, said mold comprising a pan-shaped body having a fiat bottom wall and a narrow upstanding rim extending around the entire periphery of said bottom Wall, said body being formed of paper-like material, the interior surface of which is contoured to simulate the surface-texture of a piece of masonry, and a thin loosely adherent layer of rock particles mechanically pressed into said interior surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 748,352 Dexter Dec. 29, 1903 1,163,375 'Selfridge Dec. 7, 1915 1,636,396 Urschel July 19, 1927 1,776,999 Jensen Sept. 30, 1930 1,960,276 Miller May 29, 1934 2,101,019 Bowes Dec. 7, 1937 2,286,531 Fralick June 16, 1942 2,505,426 OFlaherty Apr. 25, 1950 2,513,648 Iezzi July 4, 1950 2,517,432 Hornberger Aug. 1, 1950 2,601,532 Knighton June 24, 1952 Iezzi Nov. 25, 1952 

